At the moment I am building a bpm synced playlist for running. I have an old one I have been using that is 1h15min long that has all songs 130-145 bpm. It allows me to set a tempo and run a 10k in 1h and 15m. <3 science.

Now I am working on a faster playlist to help me increase my speed to a 9m mile up from a 11 min mile. Fortunately there are a lot of great running/motivation songs at 160bpm compared to 130. So far these are my favorites:

I've been deep into darkest synthwave but that was kicked off by Stranger Things, not by the political climate. It's just a coinkydink that that the mood of the music I'm into atm is appropriate to the timbre of news and bar-chat. Serendipity!

Also fwiw my increased Podunk barhopping of late has reinforced my view that things aren't as doom&gloomy as cyclic news would have one believe. Largely RoC types, largely amiable and intelligent folk with not so much apathy as just a few years prior. This in the heart of opiate addiction & unemployment land.

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Music this time is ubpeat. I've mentioned The Correspondents before, and I'll say it again: see them live if you get the chance, even if you're not into electroswing. Incredible performances from these people. The song is I Wanna Be Like You, sampling Phil Harris & Louis Prima from the animated classic Jungle Book.

Was out on a grocery run and SXM coughed up the Jeffrey Gaines live version of "In Your Eyes". Peter Gabriel adored American blues music, tried to write it into Genesis (his best efforts are on The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway), but never made it work because he just couldn't sing the blues. Phil, of course, was Philly blue-eyed soul all the way. That's the difference between UK "public" school types and Cockneys.

Jeffrey Gaines' version is pure blues, with acoustic guitar and a much slower tempo. Even better, the crowd fills in the low bass part in the choruses (the low-pitched Your Eyes counterpoint in the original), and Gaines thanks the audience for that. As a lifelong second bass (lowest of the low, ask derFunk) in any sort of organized chorus, I always ended up singing the low "oom-pah" harmony parts to any song, so I hear those preferentially and sing them in the car when I'm alone. I can barely manage baritone, but tenor is right out.

Now for a puzzler. I find that Jeffrey Gaines is not who I thought he was. While listening I was thinking of a guy also named Jeffrey (I think??) who was also a blues singer, was also of the '90s, but was blind and played his guitar flattop-style in his lap and passed away quite early age-wise. I refuse to Google in the hopes it will come to me later this evening but, absent that, it's: Help me JBI, you're my only hope.

Speaking of "In Your Eyes", Ned did you ever find a pressed copy of Nancy Wilson's "Live at McCabes"? FWIW I've been satisfied with the Amazon "on demand" CD-R I bought (not of that album, a different one). The packaging and disc labeling looked very professional, and the disc itself was fine. They also list a couple of used copies from 3rd party sellers, but I suppose there's no guarantee that those aren't used copies of the "on demand" burned version.

DOOM's sound track. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm932Sqwf5E)If you liked DOOM 1 and 2, highly recommended. A masterpiece of fluid gameplay and unrelenting carnage. A proper homage to the Doom of old. The soundtrack fits ohh so well.

And that take on the original Doom theme. Damn!I'm not even into this style of music, but it fits the gameplay so well.

If only Brad from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" knew who he was trying to seduce while wearing his Long John Silver's uniform on a delivery drive.

EDIT: OMDFB I had no idea based on the Heart canon that Nancy could challenge her sister on the "grit" needed to make these tunes speak to the soul. I never knew that Nancy harbored an inner Sass Jordan or Beth Orton.

If only Brad from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" knew who he was trying to seduce while wearing his Long John Silver's uniform on a delivery drive.

EDIT: OMDFB I had no idea based on the Heart canon that Nancy could challenge her sister on the "grit" needed to make these tunes speak to the soul. I never knew that Nancy harbored an inner Sass Jordan or Beth Orton.

You're very welcome. This disc is why I am sorely disappointed that she has never released another solo project with vocals. She can't belt like Ann can, but her voice is every bit as good.

Edit: Her cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Kathy's Song" floored me the first time I heard it. "Case Of You" also made me realize that there are little bits of Joni Mitchell influence running through some of Heart's music, going way back. I also think one of the reasons I really like the album "Jupiter's Darling" is that Nancy gets to sing lead on more of the tracks than on earlier albums.

This I learned today: Circadian Rhythm Disorder is one of several recordings which all fall under the umbrella of Marco Minnemann's Normalizer II project. Several other musicians have also based recordings on the same drum track over roughly the past decade.

Now for the funny part. It turns out that I owned two of the others already -- Trey Gunn's Modulator, and Alex Machacek's 24 Tales. But all three of them took it in such different directions in terms of musical composition, choice of overdubbed instruments, how high the drums are in the mix at any given point, and where to place the track breaks (plus I bought them spread out over a number of years) that I didn't notice that all three albums utilize the exact same percussion track!

OK, now I need to listen to all three of them back-to-back.

...and I've just added Mike Kenneally's Evidence of Humanity to my collection. Another chapter in the Normalizer II project!

Haven't listened to the whole thing yet, but initial impression is that it is jazzier than Circadian Rhythm Disorder (reminds me a bit of Zappa's Shut Up... recordings at times), but not as "out there" as 24 Tales.

...and I've just added Mike Kenneally's Evidence of Humanity to my collection. Another chapter in the Normalizer II project!

Haven't listened to the whole thing yet, but initial impression is that it is jazzier than Circadian Rhythm Disorder (reminds me a bit of Zappa's Shut Up... recordings at times), but not as "out there" as 24 Tales.

Duh, I'd forgotten that he was actually in Zappa's band for a while. That bit of musical trivia was probably rattling around in the dark corners of my brain somewhere, and led me to immediately make the mental Zappa comparison.

It amazes me how many ridiculously talented musicians have played in Zappa's band and some point in their careers. He's kind of like the musical Kevin Bacon...

Not so much what I'm listening to now, but what I shall be listening to this coming Sunday (7/23) evening.

Elvis Costello is bringing his band (the Imposters, which includes some members of the Attractions) to an outdoor show here at home. EC is the wife's favorite artist. Just read a fluffer article on the local rag's webpage that the show is supposed to be a recreation of the 1982/1983 "Imperial Bedroom" tour. As chance may have it, that's her favorite album. I'd bought the tickets months ago on a flier knowing her love for EC and it seems like I did alright by my efforts.

Side Note: Later Monster Magnet seems to be straight-up Metal, not very psychedelic at all. Not bad, but also not good. Is there another group out there with a sound vaguely similar to Space Lord / Temple of Your Dreams? My Google-Fu is weak, as is my in-depth knowledge of Metal in general.

Side Note: Later Monster Magnet seems to be straight-up Metal, not very psychedelic at all. Not bad, but also not good. Is there another group out there with a sound vaguely similar to Space Lord / Temple of Your Dreams? My Google-Fu is weak, as is my in-depth knowledge of Metal in general.

I'm not sure I'd call either of those two songs you mentioned metal, so you might be better off looking for more of a rock band anyway. There is a lot of overlap though especially with bands like Halestorm which can do both, but often has a few ballads thrown in as well. Even Slipknot has done that on occasion, and they're pretty hard to mistake as anything but a metal band.

Do not meddle in the affairs of archers, for they are subtle and you won't hear them coming.

There is a lot of overlap though especially with bands like Halestorm which can do both, but often has a few ballads thrown in as well. Even Slipknot has done that on occasion, and they're pretty hard to mistake as anything but a metal band.

...and then you've got bands like Opeth which morph over time. They started out as Progressive Death Metal, and transformed over the years into more of a retro Prog Rock band!

Well, that was disappointing. Elvis Costello has turned into his own lounge cover band. Tempos at 75% and songs brought down at least one step and maybe two steps. 45 minutes in people were folding up their chairs (outdoor lawn show) and heading out. Wife (the real EC fan in the house) called it at 1 hour, which surprised me. As we picked up our stuff EC launched into a version of "Alison" that would only be recognized as such by long-term EC fans given how slow and low-pitched it was.

Even if I'd stayed, I sure wasn't going to get the infamous SNL version of "Radio, Radio".